To be completely honest, there was a time when I thought this day would never come ... a time when I didn't know if I could make it through four years of this much hard work. Now that it is all over?I am in total awe of how fast the time actually went.
It seems like just yesterday that I was 18 years old and attending my first days of practice. I would call my mom every day and beg her to come visit. I missed my family and I was scared. I cried more than I laughed. I would talk about things with Whitney?both of us unsure if we could make it through.
Looking back, I wish I would have realized how lucky I was then and that I was just beginning this journey...the most amazing, self-fulfilling, journey of my life.
Soon, everything began to fall into place. I started making friends on the team and began to honestly love them all. We all went from acquaintances to friends, and from friends to family. This group of girls I didn't even know months prior, I could now no longer live without. They were sisters to me...I truly believe that I have found my second family here.
That is why things like this are so hard.
I am saying goodbye to so much more than a game. I am saying goodbye to the only life I have known since I was five.
I am certain that I have learned more in the four years I've spent playing basketball at UND then I could have ever learned doing nearly anything else. I am a completely different person than I was when I started playing here, and I absolutely love who I have become. I have been through wins and losses, triumphs and downfalls.
I thought I would come here, play my four years, and leave without much thought. I couldn't have been more wrong. The people I have met and the pride I feel has made a permanent mark on my heart. When I think about my first game in the Betty, my heart jumps ... when I think of the last one my heart sinks.
I am not ready?nowhere near ready?for this to be over.
Now I feel as though I am right back to my freshman year?I cry more than I laugh. I miss my second family and I am more scared than ever?I am terrified.
I do not know what is next for me, but I do know that the tools I have learned while being a Fighting Sioux student-athlete will allow me to never give up. I am a fighter, now. You all made me strong enough to stand alone.
I am honored to have spent the last four years in a Sioux jersey, and I assure you that I will spend the rest of my life thanking God for this opportunity and everyone I have met here.
There is no amount of words that I can say to even come close to showing my gratitude.
To my family?thank you. You have been my rock.
To my teammates?I will never forget you. Every single one of you will have a special place in my heart.
To my coaches?thank you for guiding me and molding me into the best person, not only athlete, I could be.
And finally, to our amazing fans! My four years I dedicate to you. Thank you for taking me in, and I hope I have made you all proud.
